The Dragon's Lion
by DarknessAngel013
Summary: An unlikely rescue ends in the death of a father and the start of a beautiful friendship. Will it lead to something more or will it crumble at their feet? DMHG
1. Chapter 1

Saving an Innocent

"Damn...Where's Harry?" Hermione threw a punch at a nearby Death-Eater while trying to locate her scarred friend. "Harry?"

He had left her. He had left his best friend.

"Where's Bellatrix?" Damn. Bellatrix was gone. That meant that Harry had left his best friend to die so he could have his petty revenge; some friendship that was.

"Ron? Ronald Weasley?" She threw another punch. "Ron? RON?" Hermione almost collapsed.

He had left her too. He thought that running off to fight with Harry was more important than helping her. She thought he had loved her. "No…"

"Well, well, well…isn't it that filthy mud-blood Granger…" There was someone behind her: mocking her. She could hear the ice in their voice. This man was most definitely a Malfoy.

She spun to face, only to be hit with a heavy-duty cruciatus curse. She fell back writhing in pain. Every bone in her body was cracking and her muscles were going into fits of spasms. Her vision was clouded but she could faintly make out the blonde-haired profile of Lucius Malfoy and someone behind him holding a wand to his back.

Then, all of a sudden the pain was gone and she was left with only the memory of it in her joints and muscles. "Thank you…" She looked up at her savior, only to find the face of Draco Malfoy: the ferret.

"Malfoy?" She lifted a hand to touch his arm. "Why…why did you save me? You hate me…" Darkness was closing in on her quickly but she had to know. But Malfoy wasn't answering her. "Draco…please tell me why you helped me…please…"

At the sound of his first name, the blonde-haired boy looked down at her. His silver-blue eyes bore into her chocolate ones. "I-I killed him…my father…"

It was then that Hermione noticed the fallen form of the elder Malfoy. "Draco…he was trying to kill me. You only did what your heart instructed you to. You were protecting an innocent."

He laughed. "You're no innocent, Granger. I saw you kill 10 Death-eaters over there," he bent to lift her into his arms. "That was amazing." She let him pick her up.

She laughed too. "No it wasn't…I was just defending myself. I didn't kill that many. I mostly trapped them all in their minds. I didn't want the dementors going soulless."

Draco shook his head, his blonde hair falling across his face. "No, we would never want that. Then they might come after Golden boy again. Speaking of which, where are they? Where are Golden boy and his trusty sidekick?" He looked down at her in sincere interest.

Before she knew it, Hermione was sobbing into Draco's shirt. She hadn't even noticed when the first tear had fallen but she knew that as of now, the tears were nowhere near stopping. The two people she had thought were her best friends were gone; leaving her to go fight a single Death-eater when she was trapped in a field of them: alone. "They-they-they left me to die out here! They went to go get their revenge. They left me to-to-to die!"

Draco let her cry on him. She was a wreck. The Golden Trio had split off, leaving the Gryffindor Princess to her own devices. They had left her to die so they could exact their petty revenge. "Granger…I think you need to come with me for awhile. I don't know where Potter and Weasel are, but I do know that you need medical attention and, by the looks of it, some heavy-duty sleep. And I need to speak with Dumbledore. So will you come with me?"

Hermione was drifting into the welcoming darkness, but the sincerity in Draco's voice brought her back long enough to nod her heavy head.

"Alright…we're going to need to get to my portkey without any of the Death-eaters seeing us. Keep quiet, okay?"

She nodded weakly and reached her hand into the bag hanging loosely around her waist. She pulled out a gleaming invisibility cloak: the one the Order had given her when she had first arrived with Harry and Ron. Now it was saving her and Malfoy's lives. "Malfoy-"

"Black; it's Black now. I don't want to be my father. I'd much rather be like mother. You'd like her, I'd expect. She's just like you: headstrong and very talented. They called her the "Lion's Dragon" in school. They swore she belonged in Gryffindor and Slytherin…"

"Draco- please stop rambling and put this cloak on. If we get out of here alive, I will gladly meet your mother. Now will you please get me out of here? I do believe I'm bleeding…." She then passed out, the cloak slipping from her fingers onto Draco's chest. He picked it up and threw it over them both.

"Her-mi-o-nee," he smiled, it sounded good flowing from his tongue. It was strange. "Hermione, I will get you out of here and when you're better, you can meet my mother. I do believe that your correct nickname now is: the "Dragon's Lion", little Gryffindor. My mother will love you." He then stepped into the night.

Hermione awoke early the next morning with a severe pain in her head. It hurt like hell but that was not what had startled her. It was who was lying next to her on a different hospital bed: Ronald Weasley and Harry Potter; that had given her the shock.

"Harry? Ron?" She whispered. When they didn't answer she screamed, louder than a banshee, some would say, sending them sprawling to their feet.

Ron spoke first. "'Mione! I was so worried about you. I came back for you and I didn't see you and then I found your wand next to Lucius' body but you were nowhere to be found. I was so scared you had died or been captured….Hermione?"

Hermione was laughing: a maniacal laugh that shook her small frame. The boys looked on it interest. Harry spoke: "Hermione? What's so funny?"

She stopped laughing and pointed at them, the strange smile still plastered on her face. "You!"

"Why are we funny?" Harry asked. Ron nodded in acquiescence.

"Because you said you cared! You said you were worried!" Her face turned deathly pale and the smile disappeared. Unshed tears glistened in her eyes. "You weren't worried about me. You-you left me to die. Both of you did. You left me in a field of Death-eaters all by myself to fight them all off. Multiple almost killed me. One even put the Cruciatus on me! I would have died right there, under Lucius Malfoy's Cruciatus if I hadn't been saved. Saved by none other than your "arch-enemy" Draco Mal-Black. Draco Black."

Harry and Ron were both shell-shocked. But Harry spoke first, anger laced in his baritone voice. "Black? That bastard ferret took my godfather's name for himself? What makes him think he deserves it? He's nothing but a spoiled git with an alternate agenda for saving you."

Hermione was crying now and Ron was moving towards her slowly. "He deserves it more than anyone in Sirius' family. His mother was Narcissa Black! The Lion's Dragon!"

Ron was getting closer and Hermione had stopped talking and had started trying to bat away Ron's attempts to touch her. "No, Ron. Get away from me…please get away." Ron was having none of that: Hermione was his girlfriend and he had spent three weeks fighting and hadn't gotten anything from her. Gods, he wanted to kiss her. Why was she being so damn difficult?

"I am your bloody boyfriend, Hermione! I have the right to touch you when and where I please. You are mine!" He grabbed her shoulders and captured her mouth in an angry kiss. His kiss reflected all the pain he felt…all the anger. All of the sexual frustration.

She pulled away quickly and her face held the look of a woman looking at a filthy beast. "Ron! How dare you! GET OUT! GET AWAY FROM ME!" He tried to kiss her again to make her shut up but she threw a fist his way. "HELP ME! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Ron tried desperately to silence her and Harry was pulling on his robes.

"Ron, we need to go. I hear someone coming."

"NO, Harry! She's my bloody girlfriend and she will do what I fucking say!" He reached for Hermione again, to only be pulled back by a different force.

"Weasley! What the hell are you doing?" Ron looked up into the face of Draco Black…'no', he thought. 'Definitely Draco Malfoy.'

"What do you think I'm doing, ferret? I'm trying to kiss my bloody girlfriend! I am allowed to do that, aren't I? She does belong to me!" His response was a punch in the face.

"She is not your damn property! She is a fucking human being! So when she tells you to leave her the fuck alone, do it! She deserves some sort of respect, don't you think? And what in the hell makes you think she would kiss you after you left her in a bloody field of fucking Death-eaters?"

Ron turned a crimson color as blood fell freely from his lip and nose. "She…,"Ron wheezed, "is…," He coughed, "MINE!" He screamed and propelled himself into Draco's body.

Hermione had had enough. "RON! LEAVE DRACO ALONE!"

Both fighting boys looked at her in surprise. Both surprised that she had defended Draco Malfoy. The heir to the Malfoy estate, the Slytherin Prince, her supposed enemy.

Draco felt a sense of pride flood into his system when she had defended him and he had felt a sense of joy when she had called him by his name. Ron felt only anger at all of it. His girlfriend was defending the flying ferret instead of him: her boyfriend.

She seemed to know the reason for his anger and she remedied it quickly. "Ron, I think we're done. I don't think I can be with you anymore, so just please leave. Harry take him with you. I don't think I want to speak to either of you for a long time."

Ron shot a glare at the smirking Malfoy, as Harry lifted him up and dragged him from the room. When the door had shut behind the two boys, Hermione collapsed on the bed, crying.

Draco picked himself up off the floor and walked over to Hermione's bed. He sat down on the edge of it and placed a hand on her back that was shaking with each heart-wrenching sob. "He doesn't deserve you, Hermione. Any man that thinks of a woman as property doesn't deserve one. Especially a man that thinks of you as property. You are by no means property."

She lifted her tear-stained face to meet his eyes. He smiled solemnly at her and she took a deep breath to steady her heart rate. "Thank you, Draco. I don't think anyone has ever said anything like that to me before." She placed a quivering hand on his arm. "I used to always think that to be a good girlfriend you had to do everything for that other person. That's why I let Ron copy my work…my hard work and why I let him dominate over me. That's why I couldn't fight back when he kissed me on the bed."

She smiled as tears fell down her face. "Then you popped into my mind. When you were saving me. You had asked if I would come with you, you didn't just take me. You asked me. It was different and I realized that was what I wanted. I wanted someone to care about what I thought and not what I could do for them….thank you again."

He rubbed a hand down her back until he heard her breathing even out. Then he placed her down under the covers so she could she sleep in peace. He then stood and walked towards the door of the infirmary. He needed to talk to Dumbledore.

Just as he was about to walk out, he turned and faced Hermione again. "You're welcome,

Hermione…You're welcome."

FIN!

READ AND REVIEW!

The next chapter will be up shortly. I know this one was short but getting started is always hard for me. I'm sorry Ladies and Gents. The next will be longer. I promise!

Darkness


	2. Chapter 2

A Friendly Chat and the Start of a Beautiful Friendship

The halls of Hogwarts were empty and silent, but that was to be expected in the middle of July. No student ever stayed this late: even if they had severe summer school. The teachers had arrived the week before to begin their lesson plans and to clean up their rooms, but other than that, he, Hermione, Harry and Ron were alone.

Draco sighed and stepped in front of the statue outside of Dumbledore's office. He didn't have the password but experience had taught him that Dumbledore always knew when someone was outside his door; always.

The wait outside the office gave him time to think. To think about all that happened in the last week. He needed to think about it eventually; he couldn't just ignore all of it. It just wouldn't be right to forget about it all. It had been the hardest and most rewarding week of his life. He had gained safety, compassion, freedom, a guilt-free conscience and a new friend.

He never would have thought in a million years that Hermione Granger would come to be his friend, but it had happened. She might not know it yet, but everything he was doing now was for her. Ever since their fourth year, when he saw her dressed for the Yule Ball, he had secretly pined for her. Why? He didn't know in the slightest, but it sure as hell felt right.

When she had called him by his name, when she had defended him, when she had let him comfort her, when she had let him save her…hold her: she had been making his heart soar. That was what he wanted. He wanted to be trusted, to be wanted and most of all: to be loved.

Of course he was loved by his mother, but that was different. He wanted to love someone with all of his heart and soul. He wanted to feel what his parents never did. He didn't want to treat his future wife like how his father had treated his mother. His wife would be his partner in every way. He would love her and she would love him, and they would do everything together: never stealing the other's freedoms. They wouldn't be like his parents. He wouldn't let his future wife be treated like that.

His future wife…he could picture who he wanted it to be, but that was the biggest long-shot in all of existence. How could possibly get her to love him? Better yet: how in the hell was he supposed to get her to like him or befriend him? Was that even possible?

Draco didn't know. Draco didn't care. Even if he couldn't have her, he would make sure that no one else treated her badly. He would protect her.

Speaking of protecting someone, that's why he needed to talk to Dumbledore. He had an idea. A way to protect her from all that was killing her from the inside out and a way to make her trust him…to like him.

Suddenly, the statue of the Hippogriff swung to reveal a staircase leading into the Headmaster's office. A place he had come to feel as a safe haven. And today, a place to put his plan into motion.

"Mr. Malfoy, please enter my office. You are most welcome!" The joyous voice of the Headmaster flooded down the stairwell, reaching his ears so clearly that Draco could have sworn the Headmaster was standing right in front of him.

"Yes, Sir. But could you please call me by my mother's name, please? I'll tell you why when I reach your office, Sir." He called up the stairwell before stepping onto the first step. The stairwell began to move and spiral him up into the office. He jumped despite himself. He would never get used to moving stairwells.

"Of course! Mr. Black! It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" The Headmaster's face popped into his vision and he took an intake of air. A newly-risen, Fawkes, cooed from the corner of the room and the portraits greeted him in turn.

"Headmaster, I have an idea for you." Dumbledore motioned to the seat in front of his desk, as he took his seat behind the desk.

"Do tell, Draco. I am anxious to hear your suggestions. I like suggestions." Dumbledore gave a sincere smile as Draco sat down.

"Headmaster, I have an idea that has to do with the safety of a certain friend of mine. It's also an idea to promote inter-house-unity."

"Go on, Draco, I don't bite."

"Well…I was thinking that perhaps the Head Girl and Head Boy should share a common room. I know for a fact that Hermione Granger is the Head Girl, correct?"

"Yes, she is, but you do not know who the Head Boy is, Draco?"

"Not for sure, though I have an idea."

"You believe he is in a different house than Miss Granger, yes?"

"Yes. I thought he had to be?"

"No. We can make special arrangements if we want to have two of the same house, which is what we were thinking about this year. We were thinking that the Head Boy should be Ron Weasley."

Draco jumped up and his face was clouded in worry. "Please, no! Hermione would be in hell the whole year!"

"Language, Draco."

"Sorry…but earlier today they got into a spat and if I hadn't of come in, he would have raped her for sure. She was in hysterics by the time I got there. Weasley thinks she's his property and she most certainly is not! No human being deserves the term 'property'. It's not right, Headmaster. Please reconsider him as your choice, please. I fear for Hermione."

Dumbledore motioned for Draco to sit down. "Draco, is Miss Granger the friend you spoke of? The one you wish to protect?"

Draco sat and put his head in his hands. "Yes. I want to protect her more than anything. And she doesn't know that I'm doing this, Sir, so please, can you not mention this talk to her?"

"Of course not! This is a confidential conversation. And I do say that your concern for Miss Granger is extraordinary. She is a remarkable girl, Draco. She deserves only the best after what she's went through in her lifetime. I do believe that you have won yourself place as Head Boy and I do believe that your idea for a shared dormitory for the Head Boy and Head Girl would be splendid! I would have to ask the teachers what they thought and have Argus find you and Miss Granger a suitable room, but I do believe this shall work."

Draco smiled and laughed. "Thank you, Sir! Thank you!"

"Is there anything else you wish to speak to me about?" Dumbledore shook Draco out of his dance of gaiety.

"Not really. Only I wish to tell you that my father was killed yesterday in the battle between the Order and the Death-eaters. I was there and I am sad to say that I was the one who killed him. I did it to save Hermione from certain death. He was torturing her to death. So, I would like to ask if it would be acceptable if my mother came to stay at Hogwarts for a while. I think she'll need me when she finds out the news. It could be hard on her."

Dumbledore nodded. "I'll send for Narcissa in the morning. Please send her an owl telling her to expect my visit and to be ready to leave. Is that all, Draco?"

"Yes, Sir. May I go and visit the infirmary now, Sir?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Please do! Miss Granger should be glad to see you."

Draco turned to leave but was stopped by Dumbledore's voice. "Take this with you." He handed him a chocolate frog. "She loves them."

"Thank you, Sir." Draco then turned and left the office, smiling. He sped off down the hall and into the Hospital Wing. He stopped before he reached the door to the infirmary. He calmed himself down and then opened the door.

Hermione was sitting up in her bed, braiding her cinnamon hair that had grown slightly straighter over the summer. She turned to look at him when she heard the door click shut. She smiled at him and almost jumped out of the bed when she saw the chocolate frog in his grasp.

"Merlin! Is that a chocolate frog? Oh, Draco, is it? I love those!" She smiled happily and attempted to get out of the bed to come to him. He was pleased with her reaction but if she got up she would most definitely collapse. He needed to stop her.

"'Mione, lay back down or I'll eat it. And I know you like them, that's why I got it for you. It's a celebratory gift for you."

Her look turned from joyful to quizzical. "Celebratory? Why are we celebrating?"

He smiled and walked to her bed and sat down on the side. She scooted over so he could put his full body on the bed. There they say facing each other: Hermione eyeing the chocolate frog and Draco completely at ease with their situation. "Well, we're celebrating because we happen to be the new Head Boy and Girl. Now, do you want the chocolate frog?" He held it out to her but she didn't grasp it: she was staring off into space.

"You and I are Head Boy and Girl? How did it happen? Dumbledore said that it would be Ron and I, last year…"

Draco placed the chocolate frog in her hands and drew her to him into a hug. She returned the embrace and looked up into his eyes. "Did you have something to do with it, Draco?"

He looked down into her eyes one last time before pulling away. "Yes, but if you'd rather have Ron, I can fix it."

She almost screamed then. "NO! This is MUCH better than Ron. I know we used to be enemies but I'd like us to start fresh, Draco. We could try to become friends. We'll be spending every day together so it would help if we actually liked one another."

"I'd like to be your friend, Hermione. I'd like that a lot….oh! I almost forgot to tell you! Dumbledore made it so Head Boy and Girl share a dormitory. I mean we'd have separate rooms, but we'd have our own password and share our own common room. It would be as if we never belonged to any particular house. No more 'Slytherin and Gryffindor rivalry' crap. I mean, besides for Quidditch, we'd be our own house."

Hermione smiled. "Privacy. Utter and complete privacy. And no more rivalries or teacher preferences. I mean, except for Snape, of course. This is going to be wonderful, Draco. I won't have to deal with the odd looks from the other Gryffindors or have to muster up the courage to sit in my own common room because of fear of Harry and Ron. No more people copying my work or trying to kill my cat…it's going to be perfect." She jumped up. "Especially now that we're going to be friends! We won't try to kill each other!"

He laughed at that and stood from the bed. "I have to go and write my mother, I'll be back later tonight. I'll see if I can have dinner up here with you. I don't want you to be alone all of the time."

Hermione grabbed his wrist. "Thank you, Draco. You're making my seventh year into the best one of my Hogwarts career: even with the horrible things Harry and Ron did. Thank you…"

"You're welcome, Hermione. Oh! By the way, my mother is going to be staying at Hogwarts for a while. You can meet her, if you want."

Hermione hugged Draco around his waist, burying her head in his stomach. She pulled away and smiled. "It'll be okay, Draco. You're going to be there with her when she finds out the news. It'll be okay. I'll be there for you if you need me. Remember that. And, Draco, it will be marvelous to meet your mother: The 'Lion's Dragon.'"

Draco smiled and patted Hermione head. "Yea, she's going to want to meet the 'Dragon's Lion.'" Hermione looked confused. "That'd be you, 'Mione. They put you in Gryffindor but you have the fighting skills and cunning of a Slytherin. You being a muggle-born is the one thing that kept you from becoming the next 'Lion's Dragon.' My mother being a pure-blood was the one keeping her from being the 'Dragon's Lion.' It's kind of a strange coincidence actually."

"Yea, it is, isn't it? Well, you better go write her. I need to write my grandparents and tell them I'm alright."

"Your grandparents? Why not your parents?"

She looked at the floor. "I'll talk to you later about it. I really need to write those letters and I'm really tired all of a sudden. Oh, and it'd be wonderful if you joined me for dinner tonight, Draco. I think we need to talk about some things…clear away the old hate from our systems…get to know each other a little better."

"Okay, sounds good. You get some rest, 'Mione. I'll see you tonight." He then left the room, leaving Hermione to her own devices to try and find some way to get some parchment and a quill. She had completely forgotten that they didn't have those in the infirmary.

"Damn," she whispered. She really needed to write her grandparents. They would be in hell with worry right about now. She really wished Draco hadn't left when he did. Then she saw it: her saving grace. It was Draco's portkey. He had left it in here. He would have to come back for it and then she could ask him to find her some writing supplies. Her plan was flawless.

It was at least two hours later when Draco finally waltzed back into the infirmary. By that time, Hermione was sound asleep. He walked over to her bed and bent to pick up his portkey, but it wasn't there. Where could it have gone? Then he saw it. It sat innocently in Hermione's grasp. It was, of course, turned off, or else she'd be in Malfoy Manor right about now. But he needed to get it fast before the automatic programming turned on, sending the healing girl straight into his room at the Manor.

"'Mione? Wake up, please. I need my portkey. Hermione…please wake up." Hermione stirred and opened a lazy eye. She was still half asleep.

"Don't call me that…"

Draco was confused. "Call you what?"

"'Mione. He called me that…you aren't him…Draco…I love your name…" She then rolled over and fell into a deep sleep again.

He knew she meant Ron. And she was right…Ron was no longer her friend and he called her ''Mione'. He had to think of something different.

Then it came to him. It would be a name he only used when they were alone. It would be her pet name…a beautiful pet name for a beautiful woman. "Mina…Mina, wake up for me. I need to speak with you. It's me, Draco. Remember?"

Hermione opened her eyes slowly and looked at him. She was slowly waking up. "Mina…I like it…" she then sat up, her small hand still clutching the silver portkey. "Draco…you're back. Is it dinner time already?"

He smiled and placed his hand on hers. "No, Mina. I just need my portkey. It's set to go off in a little while. It's supposed to take me to Malfoy Manor so I can speak with my mother and pick up the clothes and other things I'll need to stay here the rest of the summer and next year. It's kind of trapped in your clutches." Hermione looked down at their hands and saw the silver portkey poking out of the side of her fisted hand.

"Oh…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take it. I was going to hold onto it until you got back to get it, but I feel asleep. I wanted you to come back…it's kind of important…"

Draco shot her a look of utter confusion. "Oh?"

"Yea…I told you I needed to owl my grandparents…well…I don't have anything to write with or write on. You left before I realized that…" She blushed and began to giggle nervously.

He laughed too: his baritone covering up her soprano giggles. "Well, if you'll kindly unhand my portkey, I, as a gentleman, will find you writing supplies."

Hermione smiled sheepishly and opened her hand beneath his. He grabbed the portkey with his other hand and put it in his pocket. The hand resting above Hermione's alighted on her palm and he took he hand in his. "Can you stand, Mina?"

"I don't know…" She then placed her unoccupied hand on his shoulder, signaling for him to stand with her; to help her. "I think I can if you get me onto my feet."

He needed no other cue. Draco quickly lifted her off of the bed and placed her lightly on the ground. She removed one her hands from his shoulder but kept the other one in his grasp. He almost smiled at the innocent gesture. "Is that better?"

"Yes, very much…now…where will we find writing supplies in an infirmary?" She looked around skeptically and then met his gaze. He didn't know when he had started staring at her, but she must have felt it. "What? Why are you staring at me?"

"No reason," he adverted his eyes and looked towards Madame Pomfrey's office. "I think I found you some supplies…"

"Pomfrey's office? Are you daft, Draco? She'll catch us for sure!" Her face held worry and it amazed him how flustered she was.

"No we won't. Madame Pomfrey is out with the rest of the teachers in Hogsmeade. I thought you knew?" He looked deep in her eyes, assuring her that he was truthful.

She blushed and turned her eyes away from his. "No…I didn't know. Why didn't anyone tell me about it?"

He shrugged. "No clue, but it might be because they left as soon as Pomfrey had tended to your wounds. They're on call to apparate back here at the first sign of danger. Dumbledore wouldn't let them wander too far." He pushed Madame Pomfrey's door open with his right shoulder. It creaked and opened reluctantly and he pulled Hermione inside after him.

The room wasn't lit but there was an eerie glow coming in from one of the windows: a reflection of a torch outside the castle walls. "Draco…it's really dark…"

Draco felt around his robes with his free hand, looking for his wand. It was nowhere to be found. "Damn…where's my wand?"

Hermione grabbed his wrist. "Neither of us have our wands. They don't let you take your wand into the infirmary. It's against the rules. We're going to have to find some candles to light or get the fireplace started." She gestured to a foreboding mass layered with brick. It looked like it hadn't been touched in years.

"I don't have any matches, Mina. Do you?"

"No…smoking is a dreadful habit. Don't you agree?" Her fingers tightened about his wrist as if in warning. She felt strongly about smoking, he reasoned.

"Absolutely disgusting…both of my parents smoke. Well…my mom smokes, though I bet Lucius still smokes in Hell…Oh, I think I found some matches." He lifted up a rod he'd found on the ground. "Nope, looks like a stirring rod to me…False alarm. Did you find anything?"

Hermione had moved away from him to try and locate some candles. "Nothing…Draco, let's just get out of here. We're not going to find anything in the dark. My grandparents can wait until morning, I guess."

He nodded his head, but she didn't see the gesture, she was staring confusedly at the door from which they had entered. It was gone. "Draco, didn't we come in from that way?"

He turned to look at where they had come in. The door was missing. He had completely disregarded the fact that maybe Pomfrey had actually put security on her office. They were stuck in here. She had made it so if any intruders entered without her permission, they were to stay in. Draco was quite sure that if they tried to apparate out of the office, they couldn't do it. They were hopelessly trapped. "We're trapped in here. She put security on the place so intruders can't get out unless they're extremely skilled. She probably put it here to keep students out of her office looking for drugs and such."

"What? We're _trapped _in here? That's ludicrous! I can't be trapped in here! I have to take my medication in an hour or my headaches will come back and Draco they hurt so badly when I'm not medicated. That cruciatus did a wonder to my head. Can't we apparate out of here?"

"We could try but I'm quite sure that we'd end up spliced. Hogwarts security doesn't usual allow apparition. I guess we'll just have to wait it out. The house-elves will be in here by dinner and then they can let us out. Can you survive till then, Mina?"

"I don't know. I can already feel the headache pulsing in the back of my skull. I don't know how long this dulled pain will last before it turns excruciating. I don't want to be in pain again, Draco." She reached for him and found his arm in the darkness. She gripped him with both hands and he pulled her to him. "Please…we have to get out of here. Don't make me feel the pain again." She was shaking in his arms: either from fear or from cold. Maybe it was from both. The room was dropping in temperature minute by minute and he could practically feel the pain pouring off of Hermione. He needed to lie her down.

"C'mere, Mina. You need to lie down before your headache comes back and sends you reeling to the floor." She complied and let Draco pull her down onto the concrete floor. Her knees hit and she cringed but other than that she seemed content lying there. He eventually moved her curled-covered head onto his lap and let it lay there innocently.

She mumbled a thank-you to him before she rolled over, apparently too tired to stay awake and talk to him. When he felt her relax and fall asleep, he bent his head and placed a brief kiss atop her head. She mumbled incoherently in her sleep and Draco took it as a sign that she hadn't felt his intimate gesture. He smiled and then relaxed, laying his back against the mantle of the fireplace: might as well catch up on some much needed rest.

FIN!

READ AND REVIEW!

The next chapter will be up shortly! I promise!

Darkness


	3. Chapter 3

Enter the Lion's Dragon

The fact that Narcissa Black had always been the favored child did nothing to cure her spoiled habits and obsession with everything expensive, nor did it cure her ambitious drive to get exactly what she wanted when she wanted it. For example, as she was walking through the corridors of Hogwarts, she wanted desperately to see her son: her only son, no matter how long she had to search. He had to be somewhere in the castle, right?

Of course he was in the castle. Coincidentally, he was directly next to her in the infirmary office, cradling a certain beauty of cinnamon colored curls: Hermione Jane Granger. But Narcissa didn't enter the infirmary; Poppy Pomfrey entered, intent on retrieving her store of veritaeserum from her office and returning to Hogsmeade to aid in the questioning of a certain death eater: Rufus Scrimegeour.

What she found in her office was nothing short of shocking: two of the Hogwarts most favorite students clutching to each other in the darkness and leaning against the stone mantle of her fireplace: Draco Lucius Black Malfoy and Hermione Jane Granger; two former archenemies brought together in the name of heartbreak.

Poppy Pomfrey knew too well the pain of losing someone dear to her, but the two students before her were facing far more pain than she could even begin to imagine. One had lost his idol and father: to his own hand, protecting an innocent from harm. The other had lost her two dearest friends in the name of revenge, and had almost been killed because of it. Yes, these children knew heartbreak, but they could save themselves, she was sure, if they could put past their differences and help one another.

She nudged Draco awake lightly with the tip of her wand and motioned for him to lift, the still sleeping, Hermione off of the ground gently and to take her to her bed in the infirmary. His eyes were misted over in sleep and he gave a yawn before complying with her insistent demands. He lifted her lightly into his arms and she stirred, turning into his body for warmth. He smiled slightly into her hair and smoothed it back behind her ears.

As Draco walked into the main room of the infirmary, the heat almost knocked him and Hermione over. It was a drastic change from the freezing cold of the security-locked office. He immediately began to sweat from the temperature change, so he moved a little bit quicker to get Hermione to her bed before his grip slipped. He laid her on the bed gently and then sulked over to the glaring Madame Pomfrey, fully aware that he would have to explain quite a few things.

"Mister Malfoy-"

"Black…"

"Fine…Mister _Black_, may I please have a word with you?" Draco nodded dumbly and Poppy gestured for him to enter her office. She walked to Hermione's bedside and put a syringe in the girl's arm, administering the proper medication she should have taken hours ago, before joining him in the, now pleasantly warm, infirmary office.

She sat behind her desk and Draco sat across from her in a stiff-backed chair. He shivered nervously and wrung his hands together absentmindedly. Poppy spoke first:

"Mister Malfoy, and do not correct me, because I know why you choose to take your mother's name. Please remember, even though you do not wish to follow in the footsteps of your late father, that you are still his son and heir and thus must wear the Malfoy name. I do not care what others call you but I will continue to use your given name. Is that understood?" She gave him a hard look and he nodded in compliance.

"Good; now could you please explain the strange situation I found you and Miss Granger in this morning, Mister Malfoy?"

He sighed deeply and retold all that had happened in an exhausted and bored tone. Madame Pomfrey shook her head and clucked her tongue ever so often, either in agreement or bewilderment, but she seemed to believe everything he said. Why shouldn't she? It wasn't as if he was actually making this stuff up. It was too surreal to be made up!

When he had finally ended, Madame Pomfrey stood and left the office abruptly. He sat there, dazed, until he heard her piercing voice from out in the infirmary. "Mister Malfoy, come here." He stood and warily walked into the other room.

"I understand that your reasons for being in my office were innocent in nature but nonetheless, it is against the rules to enter a teacher's private office without permission. Thus, I shall have to give you a suffice punishment." Draco shuddered as the thoughts of all she could do to him flashed before his eyes. He might never see the light of day again.

"As you are well aware, I must return to Hogsmeade and join the other teachers, so I will not be able to chaperone your punishment, so I will be informing the Headmaster that you are not to leave Miss Granger's side until I return. You will give her the proper medication every morning, afternoon and evening and will fetch her everything she might require. She is in horrible condition and is in no means ready to be up by herself. Is that understood, Mister Malfoy? I do not care how much you two might loathe one another, but I do not want Miss Granger to be left alone longer then necessary. I will have the house-elves prepare you a bed in here…" she took a breath and then sighed deeply. "And I will have them bring Miss Granger some writing supplies, her cat and her owl." He had almost laughed at that comment but his gaiety was cut off.

"I am leaving now, Mister Malfoy, I hope you can handle yourself." She then left the infirmary in a flurry of skirts, leaving Draco to merely stare in a stupor. His punishment was to stay at Hermione's side and care for her? Wasn't he already doing that already?

He sat down on the nearest bed to Hermione to await the house-elves and soon found himself in a beautiful dream.

_Draco was sitting on the beach watching a little six year-old girl play excitedly in the surf. She twirled happily and Draco recognized the curls that fluttered around her just as well as he recognized the platinum blonde color. This little girl was his and Hermione's daughter. _

"_Draco? Are you still out there? It's almost dark and dinner's already prepared. Draco?" Hermione stood in the doorway of the Victorian house behind him, her hair in a long plait down her back. She smiled brightly when he turned to face her and motioned for him to come inside. "Could you grab Anya, please, I need to get her and Toni ready for bed." It was then he noticed another child at Hermione's hip. It was another girl, except this one had Hermione's colored hair, but it was straight, like his own. He recognized that both girls had his startling blue eyes. _

_He stood from the sand and shook it from his pant legs before walking into the light surf to grab the blonde child named Anya: his daughter, from the water. He reached her and twirled her around. She laughed brightly and clung on to his neck, until he stopped his playing and held her to his body. She snuggled into the warmth of his shirt and Draco felt at peace. Was this what it was like to have a real family? Having a warm feeling spread through your body every time you saw or was touching your loved ones? Every time you were near them?_

"_Draco and Anya Malfoy! Get in here before your food gets cold!" Hermione was in the doorway again, with Toni on her hip. Toni couldn't be older than four. "Draco! Draco! DRACO!" Suddenly, Hermione's voice changed. It became shrilly and high-pitched much like his-_

"DRACO!"

His mother….

"Mother?" Draco sat up on his bed and cleared his blurry vision, trying to see if the woman standing over him was truly Narcissa Vittoria Black.

"Oh, Draco! I thought you were ill! You were in the infirmary and this young lady told me that you had been asleep for hours so I tried to see if you would wake up on your own and then well…you slept for longer than a few minutes so I-"

He groaned. "So you got impatient and decided to wake me from the first peaceful sleep I've had in weeks…sounds like you, mother: always the one to have her way when and where she wants it." Her expression turned crestfallen and she looked to the floor, in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, Draco…I really didn't mean any harm…"

He sighed and grabbed his mother's hand. "I know, mother. I just snapped and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel like you were imposing, though I am inclined to ask why you're here at nearly midnight when I told you that Dumbledore would be there to pick you up in the morning. Couldn't you wait till then? That way I could have had the house-elves prepare you a room and I could've helped you settle in. Now you're without a place to stay-"

Narcissa interrupted. "Nonsense! I can just stay here with you and this beautiful young lady. What better company could there be? It gets awfully lonely with just my single house-elf. Sometimes I need companionship, Draco." Her face fell again. "Unless I'm imposing on you both…I really don't want to be rude…"

Hermione's tired voice chimed in from behind him. He realized she had been standing behind his bed, watching over him. "Of course not, Mrs. Malfoy, no one ever wants to be rude, but, fortunately for you, you're not being in the least bit rude and I would be happy to have Dobby and Winkie prepare you a bed in here until the proper accommodations can be made for you."

Narcissa smiled and Draco realized that this was the first time he had ever seen his mother truly smile since he had gotten his Hogwarts letter. It was an amazing sight; so amazing, in fact, that he almost forgot his duty to keep Hermione in her bed…almost. "Hermione! What do you think you're doing? You should be in bed, resting! You're ill but I didn't think you were daft too!"

Hermione paled and quickly scampered to her bed and dove under the covers, much like a child would. He laughed and so did the two women in the room with him.

"Ha! See, Mrs. Malfoy? Your son does laugh and it's a beautiful sound!" Hermione giggled happily from her bed, sounding much like Anya from his dream. He smiled.

"Why I'll be damned!" Narcissa screeched.

Hermione went wide eyed.

Draco paled. "Mother! Where'd that come from?"

Narcissa shrugged. "I did grow up in a house of boys. I heard worse than that from Sirius and Regulus over the years. I swear those boys never had a good word coming from their mouths! Especially Sirius…that boy was so rugged around the edges that I swore that he came from a family of barbarians. But I loved him and Regulus despite their problems. I loved them dearly, which is why I was so heartbroken when Sirius was sent to Azkaban because of something Pettigrew had done." Her mood fell and she was holding back tears.

"Lucius made sure I didn't say anything about it though. He said it was death-eater business. It was always death-eater business with him. He never loved me…not in the slightest. He even had the audacity to call your birth death-eater business! You were supposedly "bred" to follow along in his footsteps and be the prodigy of the dark lord…but you're safe now, Draco. Lucius died at your hand, as it should have been. Now you're free to live your life as you please with who you please. You and I, Draco, are free." She started sobbing then and she collapsed onto her knees beside Draco's bed. He felt his own tears begin falling and just barely registered the soothing embrace of someone behind him.

"Draco, it's alright to cry. Sometimes you need to cry. Your body wasn't made to hold in all of that emotion. He's gone, Draco, and I know you're sorry you killed him but you have to think about this in the positive sense. Your mother is right…you're free. You don't have to be a death-eater, you don't have to marry a pure-blood Slytherin, and you don't have to avoid friendships with ones of a dirtier blood or lower class. You can be and do anything you want." She placed her hand in his and laid her head on his shoulder in comfort.

Narcissa shifted to lay her head in Draco's lap. He played with a blonde lock absentmindedly as the tears slowed and finally stopped. He turned his neck slightly to look into Hermione's chocolate eyes. Tears had fallen down her pale cheeks but it only made her more beautiful. There was an innocence around her that stayed pure even in the evilest of circumstances, which he envied and loved at the same time. She smiled through the tears, as if to reassure him she was still there for him. But he already knew that. She would always be there, because he would never betray her. He would always stay in her good graces because he knew how it felt to be out of them: it hurt.

He wrapped one of his arms around Hermione's shoulders and smiled at her. She took the signal and moved from her seat on his bed and went to her own. She snuggled under the covers and blew out her candle.

When he was sure Hermione was out for the night, Draco lifted his mother from her settlement on his lap and put her on his bed. He could get the house-elves to prepare him another one. His mother needed the sleep now and he really didn't need it at all. That brief period of perfect sleep was enough for him…for now.

So with his mother and Hermione comfortable and on their way to sleep, Draco left the infirmary in search of his broom. He needed to relieve some stress.

R & R

Kudos and Mucho Love!

Darkness


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: My Everything…

The wind whipped his hair into a golden halo around his head as the light sun caused his blonde tresses to shine. His icy eyes, though, were trained on his objective: avoiding the Willow's obvious intent to kill him. Its branches thrashed around in a flurry of activity and Draco had to try everything in his power to avoid their deadly swipes. His broom lurched in the harsh gusts of the summer storm and the rain pelted him, dripping down his pale face and onto his contrasting black cloak. This was not what he had meant by stress-relieving flying; his mind still whirled.

His thoughts were of his mother and of the girl who sat in the infirmary—the one he coincidentally loved with every fiber of his being—sleeping soundly. They were also on September, when he would be thrust upon the students of Hogwarts, without warning, and would be scorned by every single one of them.

No matter that he hadn't intended to kill their beloved Headmaster, or that Voldemort had threatened to kill his mother if he didn't fulfill the mission, or that he had made arrangements with Dumbledore, immediately, that kept his mother alive and Draco free. No matter that he had entrusted the task to one Severus Snape—with Dumbledore's approval and acceptance, instead of doing it himself, or that Dumbledore hadn't actually died, despite what Harry had told them.

A tear slid down his face, mixing its salt with the fresh water of the pelting rain, and more followed after it. _How had he become so bloody emotional? _He wondered, trying to steady his broom once again after a daring dive to avoid a whipping branch. _Hermione, _he thought absently. _Bloody Gryffindor ensnared my heart **and **made me a bloody poof. _

The wind still howled, but its gusts had finally slowed enough that Draco could pull his broom away from the whomping willow's deadly reach. He touched down minutes later, pulling the hood of his cloak over his head, shielding his eyes from the downpour of water. Stress hardly relieved, Draco ventured inside, intent on asking Dumbledore when he could begin moving his possessions into the Head's dorms.

Hermione was just as eager to move into her new dorms. The infirmary was instilling her with cabin fever and Hermione preferred her privacy and her own possessions; the white walls and white sheets were driving her mad, and the sheer boredom of being alone 7 hours out the day had left her to counting the chips in the white wash ceiling. Besides, the Head's common room was supposed to be exquisite and their personal rooms were supposed to be charmed to resemble their fantasy bedroom. She was excited, to say the least.

Narcissa still slept on in the bed next to her, so Hermione was left to silent contemplation to occupy her time. Draco had been gone at least 6 hours and the sun had already risen, bathing the infirmary in pale gold light, so Hermione estimated it was about nine a.m. She pulled the covers off of her sore body, alighting her feet on the cold tile floor. Then she stood, waiting for the crash as she fell to the ground. Instead, though, her legs held her just fine and Hermione allowed herself a good stretch—contracting and extending her toned muscles.

She was in top shape and had grown nicely over the years. Her frazzled curls had grown out, and with their weight, they had straightened to wavy locks, flowing to the small of her back. She was a tall 5'10" and her normally flat chest had developed into a size C, gaining the attention of several of the boys back home.

She had muscles everywhere, but her legs and stomach were the most developed because of her dance classes she had taken the past three years—unbeknownst by Harry and Ron. Her "beaver" teeth had been cured by invisible braces—a charm she had perfected herself—and her skin had a bronzy and healthy tone to it, despite the scars that marred it.

It was no wonder Draco had fallen for her, except that he had fallen years before; before the growth, before the muscles, before the chest, before the braces. He had fallen hard and fast in their third year and there was no use in denying it.

It could have been her unexpected bravery with her well placed punch. It could have been her sheer willpower to take every class imaginable, no matter the consequences. Or it could have been that she was just his opposite; whatever he lacked, she had, and vice versa. Maybe they had been destined; maybe that's why he had so many dreams of her. It was a game of "maybes" and he knew it.

He watched her from the doorway, now, slightly in awe of her feline grace. She danced back and forth across the infirmary floor, slowly, with swaying and flowing movements that drew all of the attention to her hips and legs. She had her mouth slightly parted, taking in controlled intakes of air as she moved. As she twirled, her hospital gown spun around her knees, exposing some of her creamy thigh. His mouth watered, despite his obvious composure.

When he could take it no longer, he made his presence known. "Mina," he called. "I brought you some clothes." She turned at the sound of his voice and smiled at him.

"Good morning, Draco." She stepped towards him, the smile still plastered on her face. "How are things on the outside?" She snuck a glance at the window, as if willing it to open and reveal a sunny day.

"London weather, pet: rain." He replied, shrugging off his soaked cloak. His hair sat in saturated and matted clumps on his head and Hermione couldn't resist the urge to run her fingers through its softness.

"You should cut your hair." She whispered, utterly content playing with his tresses.

"Why?" He heard a girl argument coming on.

She didn't answer. "Cut it to the top of your earlobes and shag it; maybe try the sideswipe bangs, if it suits you. You look far too much like you father for your own good." She seemed depressed, and Draco regretted his parentage now, more than ever.

"Hermione—" He tried to say something, but she cut him off again.

"If you're going to be a Black, you need to look like one." She laughed dryly. "All of them had, or have, the roguish look to them. I've always been partial to it." She stopped her ministrations to look him in the eyes. "You're not your father, you know. I've always known that; even when you were only a ferret in my eyes."

He lifted his eyebrows. "I thought I was a cockroach?" He smiled then, earning one from her in return. "You're beautiful when you smile, Mina." He touched the pads of his fingers to her face, tracing a line down her jaw to her chin.

"So are you." Then she took the duffel bag from his hands and turned from him, removing his touch from her face with her distance. "I think I'll change."

As she walked, she added with an afterthought: "Don't leave me again." Then she was gone, into the infirmary bathroom.

Draco ran his hands through his hair. He could still feel her touch on him; it was like fire. He damned Lucius for the hundredth time for hurting her. He damned himself for following Lucius like a pet dog for all those years. He damned Voldemort for instilling him with Dumbledore's death last year. And, last of all, he damned Potter and Weasley for allowing her harm.

It was then he realized it—she was his everything. He sighed, pulling out his own clothes and striding his way to the boy's bathroom. He was soaked to the bone, and he wouldn't allow himself to drip onto the Head's room carpet on the first day; Hermione would kill him.

Once she head him enter the bathroom, Narcissa opened her crystal eyes. "Oh, Draco, I'm so sorry. I don't want to do this…it's just that…you're my everything." She rolled over, pulling out a blue glass bottle from her robe's pocket. She dropped some of the liquid into Hermione's medication bottle, making sure it didn't cause a change in consistency, color, or smell. Hermione would notice, and that would be extremely bad for Narcissa.

When Hermione returned, Narcissa was already gone, leaving behind only a note for Draco with a rose lying atop it. Seeing it, Hermione shrugged and grabbed her medication off of the side table, taking it down in one swig. The taste was horrid, but it helped the pain.

Suddenly, the world began spinning, and the last thing Hermione heard before the blackness of unconsciousness took her under was the crashing of a glass bottle on a marble floor and Draco's strangled cry.

The cry was a cross between a scream and a sob as Draco watched Hermione crash to the ground and turned into a guttural shriek as he reached for her. He caught her just before she hit the hard tiles, but he was too late to repair the damage. She had been poisoned, and if one did not know the poison, one couldn't find the antidote. If he did not find out in the next five minutes what had been added to her medication, Hermione would die.

"Mina, wake up, pet. I need you with me…Mina." He sobbed, reaching for the dropped cup, looking for any remnants of the poison. "I can't live without you…" He found a droplet and put it to his lips. But before he could swallow, a familiar voice rang out through the infirmary.

"Draco, I suggest you not do that. She won't be too happy if you're dead." Draco spun around and his eyes found the face of one Severus Snape: the alleged murderer of Albus Dumbledore.

"Godfather…what are you doing here?" He asked, his mind still lingering on the drop of deadly poison. His gaze obeyed his mind.

"Draco, she's not dead. Not yet." Another voice was heard. In a flash, Narcissa was pulled out from behind Snape's broad back. She was teary-eyed and red-faced. She was taking in gasping breaths, but she still held his gaze when he turned to meet hers.

"Mother…what do you know?" He saw the guilt in her icy eyes and knew. "You did it. You tried to kill her, didn't you?" Snape looked alarmed, but Draco could see his lips purse as his occulemency delved into Narcissa's mind.

"Cissy…" Snape was appalled. "I thought you abhorred that way of life." He seemed puzzled and extremely angry, as well. "You would kill an innocent girl?"

"He loved her!" Narcissa cried. "And if he loves her then he'll leave me to die. Just like Lucius did…he loved Voldemort and his cause, so he left me to rot with a spoiled brat of a child. But I saved Draco, and now it is time for me to save myself!" She darted forward, with strange grace and speed, and snatched Hermione from Draco's grasp before he could move. He was too dazed with her confession to react in time.

Draco fumed, tears spilling down his face. "Give her back, Narcissa, or I will never speak to you again…You will die an old hag with no grandchildren and no money." His eyes blazed silver with his fury and Narcissa began shaking.

"You wouldn't do that to me." She took a step towards him, Hermione in her tight grip. "I'm your mother. I bore you…I raised you."

"And you are trying to kill the only woman I've ever loved. You are stealing away my happiness just as Lucius stole away yours. You were in love before he married you, and when he did, he killed your beloved, leaving you grieving and vulnerable. Then he took you, impregnated you, and left you alone. Do you want the same for me: an existence with no love or purpose?"

"You will have me, Draco, don't you see? I will love you." She was crying and he could see Hermione paling. His love would die soon.

"You should love me no matter what, mother, that's what you're supposed to do." He spat, though he softened afterward. "Now, be the mother that you are, and give her back to us, and give us the antidote." She seemed hesitant. "And besides, if Mina and I get married, you'll have loads of babies to coddle and love. They'll be no end to it!" She walked forward. "They'll love you; Hermione will love; I will love you. Just…" he took in a shaky breath, fighting back tears. "Save her."

Then Narcissa was moving again, lying Hermione on the nearest hospital bed. Draco and Severus moved to help her, but she stilled them with barking orders.

"Severus, I need asphodel, mandrake, a bezoar, and some belladonna." The potions master nodded and disapperated, most likely going to his personal store room. "Draco, I need you to fetch a calming draught and a cool compress for when she wakes. She will be in great pain."

Draco nodded, but Narcissa could not ignore the scathing glare he sent her way as he went. He hated her, she knew, but he loved this girl, and Narcissa knew much about lost loves.

"Hermione, dear, I'm so terribly sorry. You probably don't even know how he feels about you yet, but I still tried to take it from you. I am a horrid woman." Tears slipped down Narcissa's face, pooling on Hermione's robes. She wiped her eyes and sniffled, composing herself just as Draco and Severus appeared.

"Here," they said, nearly in unison, handing her the required items. She mixed the belladonna, asphodel and mandrake essences together in a cup and sprinkled some blue powder from a container in her robes on top of it. She poured the runny mixture into Hermione's open mouth. The effect was immediate.

Hermione's eyes flashed open and scanned the room while her body began thrashing and twisting on the bed. Screams echoed throughout the infirmary as her body heated up dramatically.

Narcissa steeled herself, calling out to the two men. "Hold her down!" When she saw them pull out their wands, she flinched. "No magic! It could cause her to go into a coma!" The men immediately threw their wands and grabbed Hermione's flailing limbs. When she was successfully pinned down, Narcissa stuffed the bezoar into her awaiting mouth.

Surprisingly, Hermione swallowed perfectly and then, without any other help, passed out into slumber. Draco nearly collapsed in relief as her breathing and temperature went back to normal. He poured the calming draught into her parted lips and then placed the cooled compress on her forehead.

"Oh, Mina…" He sighed, holding one of her hands in his own. "You're going to be okay now." He was so enraptured with his love, Draco did not notice the two adults slip out into the corridor.

Severus was nearly dragging Narcissa. "What were you thinking?" He wailed, thrusting her against the wall. "You could have bloody killed her, Cissy!"

Narcissa's eyes filled with glistening wetness. "I'm sorry." She flinched when Severus tightened his grip. "I was foolish and selfish, and I am an undeserving survivor of a marriage that should have killed me. I have no purpose. I have no love." The tears never fell.

Narcissa reached and poured the remaining poison down her throat, and Severus dropped her to the ground, his mouth open in disbelief. And though it hurt, he left her there, dying. It was what she wanted.

It was many hours after that that Hermione finally awoke. She was drowsy at first but she slowly gained strength as her mind cleared of its foggy haze. She knew where she was: the infirmary, but the man beside her was a complete mystery. He must be someone important if he had stayed, holding her hand.

"Boy?" she called, earning a shift in movement for response. "Sir?" the man shifted and looked at her.

"Sir?" he questioned. "Is this a new game?" He seemed skeptical but his beautiful eyes were alight with mischief and complete adoration. This man loved her.

"No game. I simply do not know who you are."

He laughed lightly but quieted when she didn't laugh in return. "No memories of me?" He dropped his head and Hermione saw tears fall.

"No…not of you…"

"Hermione, I—" her eyes widened.

"Is that my name?"

FIN!!

To be continued in the Sequel: Lost


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